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Saddam Hussein has Done us a Favor
By Donella Meadows
–August 30, 1990–
The Arabs did us a favor. That’s what some people said after the oil shocks of the 1970s had settled a bit. By jacking up the price of oil, OPEC forced us to the creativity that resulted, over the period from 1975 to 1985, in producing a dollar’s worth of goods and services with 30 percent [...]
On Bathtubs, Carbon Dioxide, and Disrespect
By Donella Meadows
–August 23, 1990–
I have been getting impolite letters from California about bathtubs. You wouldn’t think that would be a subject to cause wrath in readers, but there seems to be something touchy about Californians when it comes to bathtubs.
The whole affair started a few weeks ago when I attempted to educate John Sununu about the greenhouse effect. I [...]
Tough Planet or Fragile Planet?
By Donella Meadows
–August 16, 1990–
“Gaia, as I see her, is no doting mother tolerant of misdemeanors, nor is she some fragile and delicate damsel in danger from brutal mankind. She is stern and tough, always keeping the world warm and comfortable for those who obey the rules, but ruthless in her destruction of those who transgress,” says James Lovelock, originator [...]
A Rohschach Test in the Middle East
By Donella Meadows
–August 9, 1990–
Iraq’s aggression in the Middle East has provided a big, oily Rohrschach spot, in which we can all read the messages already ingrained in our various psyches and self-interests.
The oil companies see a perfect opportunity not only to raise prices but to insist again that the national interest requires them to drill off our shores and [...]
The ABCs of the S&Ls
By Donella Meadows
–August 2, 1990–
If five hundred billion dollars had been robbed from us Jesse James style, we would have understood what happened. We would have risen up in outrage. We would have put the criminals in jail and learned some lessons so it couldn’t happen again.
But the heist of the savings and loans associations took place without guns, without [...]
